


runaway

by Little Keplerette (classycloudcuckoolanderclasso)



Series: South Park Drabble Bomb July 2017: Summer Adventures [3]
Category: South Park
Genre: Gen, South Park Drabble Bomb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 12:00:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11577660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classycloudcuckoolanderclasso/pseuds/Little%20Keplerette
Summary: The McCormick siblings go on a road trip.





	runaway

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Road Trip - Road trips are one of my favorite things. There’s something great to be said for those long hours sharing your favorite music, having deep conversations, and complaining about the one who snores so loudly you wish you had earplugs. Where are your muses going? Are they going for a destination in mind, or did they come up with a classic route where the journey is the destination? Do they love it or hate it? Are they fighting, having car troubles, getting lost? Sometimes it’s not until after the road trip that you appreciate it. Is that the case this time?

It’s when Karen nearly gets hit in the face with a jar of pickles during a fight between their parents that Kevin finally gets up and starts packing.

Karen’s well-being being directly threatened for the umpteenth time is the final straw. He’s just about had it.

It’s around midnight, the day after the fight, when he wakes Karen and Kenny up gently, and while Kenny gets up almost immediately, having been told of Kevin’s plans earlier, it takes Karen a while to comprehend that it’s Kevin talking to her in the middle of the night, in hushed whispers, while Kenny’s hauling a few bags out the door as quietly as possible.

“Where’s Kenny going?” She asks in a voice drowned in sleepiness.

“He’s going to my car,” Kevin reassures. It’s technically Shelly’s car, really, but she hadn’t really taken to it and had shunted it off to Kevin as a birthday gift. He had refused it, believing in the concept of working for his own things, but Shelly had pretty much forced him into keeping it, and, honestly? He was pretty grateful for it - he could get to his job faster and on time, and he could take Karen and Kenny places.

Karen sits up slowly, yawning, looking out the window as she does so. Kenny is indeed loading the bags into the back of the car, so she turns again to her oldest brother. “Why?”

“We’re... going on a little road trip, Karen,” It’s not a lie, technically. They  _are_ going on a little road trip - preferably out and away from South Park, and out and away from their parents. He’s old enough to be his siblings’ legal guardian by this point, and he has enough money saved up for his own place somewhere far away from the redneck mountain town, so he’s not too concerned yet about funds.

Karen rubs at her eyes. “At... midnight?”

“Yeah,” Kevin helps her to her feet, and dresses her in a shirt and pants before tucking her into her green jacket - a dead ringer for Kenny’s own fur lined parka, except in green instead of orange - and pulling the hood up on her head. He leaves her pigtails sticking out in the front before tenderly grazing the small bruise on her right cheek with his thumb. “Does it hurt?”

“Not so much anymore,” Karen mumbles, eyes to the floor, and it’s all Kevin can do not to take his little sister into his arms and just hide her away from the world forever. He pats her head, and takes her hand, and she takes her doll’s hand in her other hand before they tiptoe out the door and onto the lawn, where Kenny’s already waiting, leaning against the car and staring up at the sky above South Park with an air of melancholy on his face.

“Oh. You guys ready?” Kenny says, putting on a smile, but Kevin knows it’s just to make sure Karen is smiling too - there’s a crinkle between his eyebrows giving his distress away.

_She doesn’t know what we’re going to do._

Karen looks up at him like he’s the sun though. Her smile is just as brilliant, her eyes finally alight after the haze of sleep lifted from her being. “Yeah! Where are we going?”

Kenny looks at him for the answer, so Kevin replies, “It’s a surprise, Karen. It’s a road trip, remember? It’ll be our little adventure, us three siblings.”

“What about our parents?”

“... They need to rest,” Kenny murmurs, and even Karen manages to catch the bitter tone in his voice before he changes his tune, smiling. “Think of it like our little getaway, Kare. A vacation.”

“That sounds really exciting!” Karen skips past Kenny to crawl into the backseat, and as Kevin takes the driver’s seat and Kenny takes shotgun, Karen asks one last time, “But... what about our parents? Did you guys leave a note? They might get worried.”

“I’m sure they won’t be too worried,” Kevin mutters under his breath before replying in a louder voice, “I left them a note on the counter before I woke you two up. We should be fine. Now buckle up.”

Karen dutifully locks the seatbelt in place before nudging at Kenny. “Kenny, you too.”

“Okay, okay,” Kenny laughs, and, humoring her, he straps himself in as well. “Alright, Kev. Let’s go.”

They leave South Park with little to no ceremony, under the cover of the night.

The McCormick parents continue to sleep, undisturbed.

* * *

_**You have 1 new messages.** _

“Could you check it for me, Ken?” Kevin asks, at the buzzing sound. It’s been three hours since the last town they passed by, and while the road was long and empty, he wasn’t about to risk getting arrested for using his phone on the road.

Kenny, who had been blinking in and out of sleep for a while now, not wanting to leave his brother as the only one awake, jolts up and takes the phone. “... It’s from Shelly.”

“Oh,  _fuck,”_ Kevin swears under his breath, because he forgot about Shelly, Jesus shit,  _Shelly_. If she found out about the McCormick siblings’ plans, she would most likely chase after them and drag them back home. “What does it say?”

“Um...” Kenny peers at the text. “It just says ‘Don’t forget to put your shirt on right today at work.’ Aww, how sweet. I didn’t know you two were dating.”

Kevin wants to deck him. “We aren’t.”

“... I was joking, but really? You two aren’t dating?” Kenny looks incredulous. “I always kinda figured-”

“I want to ask her out but she’s still hung over that one guy,” Kevin blurts out before groaning, nearly banging his head on the steering wheel. “You know what, let’s stop at the next gas station. I’m fucking exhausted.”

The blond brother’s gaze softens, and he gives Kevin a small pat on the shoulder before they both glance backseat. Karen’s curled up on the backseat despite the seatbelts, holding her doll close to her chest, and the peaceful smile on her face melts her brothers’ hearts.

They turn back to the road, smiling in content.

* * *

They end up somewhere in Los Angeles after a few more hours, and by that time of day Shelly’s messaged Kevin at least twenty times about his whereabouts. Kevin instructs Kenny to tell her he forgot to file a leave, and that he’s on vacation with his siblings, and to not tell their parents.

_“Why?”_  She asks over the speaker.

“It’s... we’re doing this for Karen,” And it’s not a lie, really. It really was for Karen, and Karen alone. Karen, who’s sleeping in the backseat without a care in the world, waiting to go to the place her brothers promised. “We wanted to do something special for her.”

Silence.

_“How long?”_

“What?”

_“How long are you going to be gone?”  
_

“Oh, uh...” Kevin looks to Kenny, who shrugs helplessly, before he replies, “Give it... a month?”

Silence again.

And then...

_“Tell Karen I said hi, then, and take care, all three of you,”_ Shelly finally says, and puts down the phone.

Kevin really can’t express how much he’s in love with this woman right now.

By the time they find the place they’re supposed to stay in, it’s nearly jam packed, but since Kevin had the right idea to call beforehand, they get their room, and while it’s small and cramped, it’s nothing they aren’t used to.

Karen’s preoccupied with the fact that they’re in Los Angeles, for starters. She’s jumping on the bed with glee, which makes her brothers laugh as she asks, “I can’t believe we’re in LA! We should take lots of pictures and we should explore all the places!”

“Not until we get some food, kiddo,” Kenny ruffles his sister’s hair before turning to Kevin. “You going job hunting again?”

“Wait- you lost your job?” Karen looks up at Kevin, lip wobbling.

Kevin pats her head. “I’m getting a second job here in Los Angeles while we’re here. I still have my job back in South Park, but I can’t go to South Park for work every day, right? Have to find a job here too.”

“That makes sense, I think,” Karen muses. “Kenny? What are you gonna do?”

“I’m going to look up schools here for us when school starts again.”

“... You guys make it sound like we’re not going back to South Park.”

“Oh, we are going back to South Park!” Kevin hastily corrects, but the tremble in his voice gives away what he really feels about it.

Karen raises an eyebrow. She’s not dense enough to let that pass. “... When?”

“... In a few years,” Kevin ends up admitting, which makes Karen’s eyes grow as wide as saucers.

“W-why?! We’re- what about our parents?!”

“They’ll be fine, Kare, really,” Kenny drops down to her height and embraces her tightly. “We just- let’s just... try living out here, just the three of us, for now, okay?”

“I don’t understand...”

“You will one day. You don’t get it yet, but one day you will. You’ll just... know.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Karen breaks away from Kenny’s embrace to sit down on the bed, silent and contemplative. Hesitantly the two McCormick brothers take a seat on either side of her, and for minutes, all is quiet, save for the sounds of the outside world. Surprisingly enough, it’s much quieter than South Park, which only serves to highlight the silence, which threatened to suffocate the two brothers whole.

Eventually, however, Karen speaks. “Is it because I almost got hurt yesterday?”

“...”

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Karen’s voice gets marginally louder. “That’s why we went on a road trip to LA. Because I got hurt. We ran away from home.”

“... Yeah. Guess we really can’t pull the wool over your eyes, huh?” Kenny tries to crack a smile, but it’s weak. Despite it, however, Karen manages to smile back, and the three share a tight embrace.

“You know there’s probably going to be people looking for us, right?” Karen asks, after a while. “Shelly, especially.”

Kevin sighs. “I know. But they don’t know we’re in LA specifically. We’ll be fine for a while. We just-”

“- need a little vacation?” Karen asks slyly.

Kevin laughs, and hugs them both tighter. “Come on, you two. If we’re going to get caught out here in LA, we might as well make the most of it.”

* * *

Surely enough, the moment Kevin, Karen, and Kenny don’t come back after a month, Shelly straps herself into her car and takes Stan and Kyle with her. Stan sits shotgun next to her, while Kyle is unceremoniously squished next to Ike and Ruby, who had been with Ike when the Broflovski brothers were unceremoniously picked up and dumped into the back seat of the Marshs’ car.

“Shelly, where are we going?!” Stan demands.

Shelly scowls. “Shut up, nerd. We’re going McCormick hunting.”

“Aren’t they on vacation?” Kyle asks before fussing over Ike and Ruby, strapping them both in. Ruby’s eyes are trained on her phone as she texts her brother that she’s with them.

“It’s been a month. They’re not back yet. Something must have happened.”

“It’s literally only been a day, Shelly. Maybe they ended up in Costa Rica.”

Shelly gives her brother a glare as she manages to make it across before the red light flashes. “They’re not that rich.”

“Still though. It’s a possibility!”

“Whatever. Call them up, Stan, use my phone,” Shelly manages to toss her phone in Stan’s direction before making a sharp turn to the right in order to avoid the traffic. “God damn traffic jams.”

Stan catches the phone with expert reflexes before scrolling through her contacts. “I can’t find his name.”

“It’s the one with the tree emoji.”

“Why a tree?”

“Do you ever stop asking questions, loser?” Shelly snarls self-consciously before skidding to a stop at the next stop light. “God dammit. Just- go call them, dammit!”

“Alright, yeesh!” Stan complains before putting the phone on speaker. It takes a while, but pretty soon Karen’s sweet voice wafts in.  _“Hello?”_

"Karen, I need to speak to your brother,” Shelly states, direct-to-the-point. “The brunet one.”

Karen is silent for the most part. And then...  _“He’s out.”_

“Out where?”

_“Out. At his job.”  
_

“... What job?”

_“His job at the Five Guys a block away from our place.”_

“From McDonalds to Five Guys. He’s moving up in the world,” Stan comments.

_“Stan?”_ Kenny’s voice wafts in.  _“Holy shit, dude, what’s up?”_

“Kenny!” Kyle’s voice takes on an excited tone. “Where are you guys right now? How’s your vacation?”

_“We’ve decided to take an extended vacation, really...”_ Kenny’s voice is apologetic, which sets off warning bells in Shelly’s head.  _“Kevin’s really built up rapport with our neighbors and we’d hate to stop now. How are mom and dad?”_

Stan sighs. “Your parents went batshit around day three of your vacation? They got featured on ‘I’m White Trash and I’m In Trouble” again.”

_“God dammit.”_

"The good news is that with Kevin with you guys, you don’t need to go to a foster home anymore,” Kyle offers helpfully. “Should you come back, that is.”

“What do you mean, should they come back? Of course they’re coming back!” Shelly hisses as the light finally changes, and she starts the car again. “I’m hauling their asses back to Colorado or so help me God-”

_“Shelly... Kevin doesn’t want to go back.”_

“What?”

_“We... we initially ran away from home for Karen.”_ Karen sighs in the background. “ _And... now we’ve just... established our lives here. Sorta, anyway...”_ Kenny’s voice is nothing but apologetic.  _“It’s kinda like running away from our South Park lives, I know, but... that’s what Kevin wants for us.”_

"...”

_“And honestly? This place is marginally safer for Karen than South Park. I’d rather she grew up in this neighborhood.”_

“Dude! You’re literally moving there for real now?” Kyle is flabbergasted, to say the least. “What about everyone else?”

_“I’ll still be on Facebook? And you can text me or call me.”_

“Dude...” Stan shakes his head. “Having you with us is different.”

“ _Stan... Kyle...”_  Kenny’s voice is hesitant. _“I... dudes, I love you both so much, you know? But... Karen... we just-”_

"Want the best for her,” Shelly finishes quietly, slowing to a stop just outside of South Park. “That’s what Kevin says all the time. I understand.”

Silence.

“... Are you really never coming back?” Ruby asks quietly, after some time, startling everyone except Ike, who is holding her hand as she voices their shared question.

It’s Karen who answers her.  _“I’ll come back one day. Not today though.”_

“Next week?”

_“I don’t think so...”_  Here, Karen takes on a hopeful tone of voice. _“Our neighbors have a computer, so maybe we can Skype a lot instead in the meantime?”_

“That works!” Ike brightens up considerably. “Have fun there, Karen! We’ll send Firkle your love!”

_“IKE!”_

The passengers of the car erupt into laughter for a moment before Shelly quietly says, “Kenny?”

_“Yeah?”_

“Take... take care of Kevin for me. And for Karen. Please. That man doesn’t know the meaning of taking it easy. It’s for his own good.” Pause. “Please.”

Silence.

_“... You two are so in love with each other, I can’t believe this,” Kenny mutters over the phone.  
_

_“Who’s in love with each other?”_  A voice in the background asks.

_“ACK! KEVIN!”_ Kenny yelps, and by accident, he presses the ‘End Call’ button. The call stops, leaving Shelly, Ruby, and the three boys to look at each other.

“So we’re really just... letting them stay wherever they are?” Stan asks, after a moment.

Shelly sighs, and starts up the car again, but this time, she turns it around and back to South Park. “They’ll... they’ll be okay. They’ve got each other. And they’re not dead. That’s all that matters to me.”

“They’re gonna be okay,” Kyle repeats.

It’s the only thing any of them can say, at least for now.


End file.
